I recently received some bad news regarding a doctor from whom I wanted to get an updated letter of recommendation. For 12 years I volunteered at a free community/homeless clinic, which was headed by a volunteer physician who also worked as a family physician at my day job, also a non-profit health clinic, where I worked for 9 years. Because he happened to be at both facilities as did I thought that getting a LOR from him would be ideal. Before I left those places to do volunteer medical work abroad in Latin America, he wrote me a nice LOR, which I tucked away.
I wanted to get an updated LOR from him when I finally start applying to medical school, since the one he wrote is now 7 years out-of-date.
Unfortunately, he was recently arrested for possibly harassing patients, an allegation he denies. His medical license has been suspended pending an investigation, and he resigned from both his day job (same place that I used to work) and from the free clinic where we both volunteered. I think any LOR from him would not have less weight, given his situation. Even if he is absolved of any wrongdoing, the stigma remains on anything he wrote, I was told, and I was advised by a friend (nurse) to get LORs elsewhere.
While I can get LORs elsewhere from my more recent volunteer work (many years volunteering abroad, some recent work domestically), I feel that by not being able to get an LOR from the free community clinic and my former day job where I put so many thousands of hours of public health work (volunteered 20 hours per week at the free clinic and worked 6 days per week at the day job in non-profit) would be throwing away some of that effort.
I can still get an LOR from the free community clinic, however, there are only two other people left at the free clinic who remember me, and neither are doctors (one is a nurse practitioner, the other a PA).
Any ideas?
I say get a letter from the NP or PA. Then supplement it with your recent letters. I’ve been told that most schools like to see letters from people who have worked with you within the past 18-24 months anyway.
I second what Shawn said. Not sure if you’re applying DO - in that case you’ll still need a letter from a doctor.
But if you’re going MD there’s nothing wrong or negative about a letter written by another health professional - as long as it’s written professionally. 
- desert_shawn Said:
I say get a letter from the NP or PA. Then supplement it with your recent letters. I've been told that most schools like to see letters from people who have worked with you within the past 18-24 months anyway.
The NP and I are still in touch; in fact, it was she who told me about the doctor's arrest and resignation. However, I will still take your advice and get letters from more recent volunteer work. Of course, I will still mention the free clinic reference in my volunteer work; I want all those years to count for something.
In the meantime, I am looking into volunteering at a (new to me) local free clinic, so I can get a LOR from a local doctor. (That other free clinic is located across the state).